What is the value of wheat in beef cattle rations?
Wheat is an excellent feed grain when priced competitively with corn and milo. Typically, Kansas red wheats are 3 to 4 percentage units higher in protein and similar in energy to corn. In addition, mill run wheat is usually drier and cleaner than other feed grains. Wheat is particularly useful in growing rations because of its higher protein content. Pound for pound, wheat is generally worth 103 to 108 percent of the value of corn in beef cattle rations. Blending wheat with other grains in growing and finishing diets also has shown excellent benefits. How much wheat can be fed in the ration? Because wheat is very rapidly digested and tends to produce excessive fines when dry processed, it is usually blended with other feedstuffs to prevent the possibility of digestive upsets. Conservatively, beef cow supplements and creep feeds can contain 30 to 50 percent wheat. In growing programs, wheat can be the sole source of grain in silage-based diets, and it can constitute up to 50 percent of
